Ice Gold
by empole0n
Summary: This version of the "Princess and the Frog" is a bit different, it has some aspects similar to the fairytale "The Frog Prince" but is mostly based off of Disney's version. I'm aware the first Chapter is a bit boring, other then that I hope you enjoy! C:
1. Her Dream

Tiana's folded hands in her lap were clammy with nervousness, excitement, and fear. She bit her lip to keep her composure: confident, collected, and mature. She was meeting with the Fenner brothers. They were discussing a price on the old building in the middle of town. Tiana's hand went up to her hair absentmindedly. Her hair was still in the bun her mother had put it in before she left this morning.

Tiana meant business- this was the only thing she wanted her whole entire life. She had worked hard for it, and because of this she deserved it. Henry Fenner walked in and he sat down at the table across from Tiana. Her face broke into a huge smile. She couldn't suppress it. This was the moment she had been waiting for.

"Ahh, Miss Tiana Jade! It is a pleasure to see you again!" Henry Fenner extended his right hand, and Tiana reached for it. She shook it firmly. "The pleasure is all mine!" Tiana looked down at her lap as she pulled her hand away. The two had met several times before, along with Harvey Fenner. She had told them her dream of starting a restaurant, and they supported her all the way.

"In your letter, I saw you suggested about 150,000 dollars for the place. You drive a hard bargain, Miss- do you mind if I call you Tiana?" Henry Fenner pushed his glasses in place.

"Not at all, sir." She said as she made eye contact with him.

"Well, you see… the problem is with all this, is that someone is willing to pay a higher amount. If you can top 177,000 dollars by next month, I'm afraid I'm going to have to sell the place to other bidder." He said glumly.

Tiana's heart sank. How would she be able to make 27,000 dollars in the next month? She held her tears back. How could you have something so close to your grasp, but have it snatched away; just like that?

"Tiana, I am so sorry. I tried to talk to Harvey, but he wouldn't budge. I explained you had bid first, we had promised the place to you."

A tear escaped. She quickly wiped it with the back of her hand. Tiana took in Henry's features. His brown hair was shaggy and fell in his eyes. His dark blue eyes showed sincerity, and truth. She believed what he was saying. Henry really did feel bad. Tiana got up.

"Sorry for wasting your time." She choked out. She headed for the door and made a quick exit.

"Tiana, I-" She slammed the door before she could hear what Henry had to say. He sighed, sadly as she left. "I really, really like you." He shook his head, and got up from his desk to look out the window.

Tiana walked down to the bus stop. She waited twenty minutes for the bus, and gave up when she couldn't stand still any longer. She headed down the street where her dream lay.

There it was. Beautiful in the daylight. Sure, there were some cracks here and there, but they could be repaired. She touched the wall lightly, cringing. She shouldn't be here. It'd just make her even more upset. Although, there were other options, that she had not explored yet. Tiana played around with the idea that she could ask the bank for a loan. The bank wasn't too far from where she was, she decided to walk there. She briefly remembered her last time at the bank with Mr. Kufpher. It was not a good experience. She shook away the memory and continued to the bank.

The bank was empty as usual. She waited in the waiting room while Mr. Kufpher finished a phone call. He waved her in, and she sat down.

"Tiana, what brings you here today?" Mr. Kufpher said. He was sitting comfortably with his leg bent, ankle on knee.

"I wanted… to ask for a loan from the bank." Tiana bit her lip.

"Ahh, you know we only do those for people who desperately need it." The man looked at her. She was so pretty he wished he could give her a bank loan.

"I _do_ desperately need it!" Tiana threw her head into her hands. "It's my dream to own a restaurant and cook good food, and have a wonderful time, and treat folks!"

Mr. Kufpher picked up a pen and bit off the cap with his pen. He began to write some points about her situation down. Something gleamed as Kufpher finished his last sentence. He looked up.

"Hey," Kufpher began, "Why don't you sell that?"

Tiana's hand flew up to the only piece of jewelry she wore. Her golden ball necklace.


	2. A Downward Spiral

Tiana lifted her head slightly. "I…I couldn't possibly." She then pondered the thought. She could sell her golden ball necklace. She _would _make a lot of money off of it. Then the harsh reality shook her. Her eyes brimmed with tears, that she would even think of selling this necklace. It was one of the very few things her father had left her before he passed away. "No," She said firmly, "That's not an option."

Mr. Kufpher rolled his eyes. "Well, then, I can't help you." Why does she have to be so damn difficult? Kufpher thought to himself. He thought Tiana was gorgeous, but she was too serious about things. Talk about a buzzkill. Tiana rose from her chair. "Well, thank you for your time." She said calmly.

"I intend on helping you get the money you need. That's what I'm here for." He stood as well.

"I don't see anything else you can do for me." Tiana looked down at her feet.

"Just sell the damn necklace, Tiana." He roared.

"No. I already told you—" and before she knew it, he was gripping the necklace around her neck and pulled it off.

"How dare you!" Tiana screamed. "No, my father gave that to me!"

"You can make a lot of money off of this." He shook the necklace at her. "If you don't sell it, I'll get rid of it myself."

"No!" Tiana charged at Kufpher and pushed him. The necklace flew out the window. Tiana gasped. She quickly ran out of the office and into the shrubs where she saw her necklace fall.

Day in, and day out, Tiana looked for her necklace. It was nowhere to be found. Each night Tiana would go home and sob uncontrollably. She had lost her necklace, and her future restaurant.

"Honey, it's okay." Eudora, rubbed Tiana's back.

"It's like they took dad away from me." Tiana rubbed her eyes, and continued crying.

"Your father wasn't in that necklace, but he'll always be in your heart." Eudora kissed the side of Tiana's head.

"It was," she breathed through all the tears, "one of the only things that he left me."

"Oh, Tia. Let me go get you some tea." Eudora left the room. Tiana walked to her window and sighed. She looked up at the stars in the sky. "Daddy, I'll find the gold ball, and get us our restaurant." She left her room in a rush, and grabbed a coat. "I'm going for a walk, mom." Tiana called. Eudora told her to be safe and Tiana agreed she would be.

Tiana took her usual route down to the bank. She needed to find that necklace, despite what her mother said. She saw two men heading into the bank. They stopped suddenly, and one leaned down and picked up something… her golden ball!

"Achidanza! Look at this, Lawrence! Go find the nearest pawn shop, I'm sure I could sell this and then I wouldn't have to ask for a bank loan or even get a… ugh, job!"

Tiana ran as fast as her feet would take her. "My necklace! You found it!" Tiana reached for it. Just as she did this man pulled his hand away with the necklace still in it. "Excuse me, but I found this! Therefore, it is _mine." _

"Are you out of your mind? My father gave me that necklace, I've been looking for it for days!"

"How about we make a deal. You give me a job and I'll give you this necklace back?" The man negotiated.

"No! I mean, I can't. I'm sorry. I-" Tiana was at a loss for words. "You see, I work two jobs, all day, then all night. I could try to get you a job at one of the restaurants, but they haven't hired for _years." _Tiana wiped her head with the back of her hand.

"I understand. Well, thank you." He nodded towards the other man, and they continued into the bank.

"What about my necklace?" Tiana wailed. She covered her mouth with her hand. It was unlike her to whine or even complain.

The man looked behind him and chuckled, "You'll get it back when I decide what you owe me!" And with that they went into the bank.

She sighed. She looked at her watch. Speaking of working two jobs, her shift was going to start in twenty minutes.


	3. How I feel

Tiana picked up some pancakes that Joel had just flipped. She served them to the happy couple that came here every morning for breakfast. She made her behind the counter to make her special cinnabuns that everyone loved.

"When is Charlotte coming back to New Orleans!" Maddy whined.

"I know, it is so _boring _here without her." Dawn agreed.

"Hey, Tiana, you must know when she's coming back since you guys are all _bff's _and what not." Maddy commented.

"She's coming back tomorrow night." Tiana said.

"I don't know what she sees in you. You're boring, all you ever do is work." Dawn shot at her.

"I'll have you know that I have a dream, I am motivated to succeed." Tiana snapped back. They heard Joel making his way into the kitchen. Maddy dropped a plate on the floor. "Tiana! _How could you?" _Dawn squealed. Maddy stifled a laugh, as did Dawn. Joel walked in.

"Tiana, I'm telling the boss, and that is coming out of _your _pay check!"

"It wasn't me, Maddy dropped that plate." Tiana said, in a bored tone. They had played this game before.

"Maddy and Dawn this will be coming out of both of your pay checks!" Joel shouted leaving the kitchen in a haste.

"God, Dawn, you shouldn't have dated him. He takes Tiana's side in everything now because of the way you broke up with him." Maddy said as she began to sweep up the pieces of broken glass.

Dawn pretended to ignore her and began scrubbing the dishes in an aggressive manner.

Tiana picked up her bag, and slung it over her arm. She looked down at her feet while walking home. She had been working extra shifts so she could pay for the restaurant, even though she knew it was pretty much impossible. Tiana heard whistling. It was 11PM, why would someone be out this late? Tiana squinted her eyes. It was the guy who had her golden ball necklace. Tiana ran up to him. "Can I _please _have my necklace back?" Tiana asked. The boy looked confused. He studied Tiana's face. "Ah! Achidanza! It is you, the girl who owes me a favor."

"I have a name, you know." Tiana put her hand on her hip.

"So do I, what is your point?" He could see this girl was getting very annoyed. He put his hands up, surrending. "My name is Naveen." He smiled.

"I'm Tiana. It's nice to meet you. About the necklace, I didn't really have a chance to tell you what that necklace means to me, since you took off so fast." Tiana mumbled, fiddling with her fingers. She felt awkward talking to this guy she hardly knew. "Anyways," Tiana said a bit more confidently, "My father gave it to me, he passed away a few years ago. Or so they think. He went MIA." Naveen could see the hurt in her eyes. "I am sorry to hear that. I'll bring it by the next time I see you. I left it at home."

"Thank you so much." She continued to walk back home, when she realized she had no way of contacting this man. She turned around. "Hey, what if I don't see you again? What if you flee town with my necklace or something?" Tiana shouted.

"We will see each other again, it hasn't stopped us that past two days from running into each other, has it?" He chuckled. He turned around and continued down the street. This girl, Tiana was quite funny.

Tiana opened the door to her mother's house. She felt like such a burden on her mother that she was still living there. She was only seventeen, but she hadn't even tried saving up for an apartment or anything.

"Tiana! I've got the best news." Eudora shouted, "A young man has come by here asking for you."

Tiana wrinkled her nose in surprise. "Pardon?" Tiana didn't have time for men, and their games. She was more focused on other things. She was working for her restaurant, when she wasn't working on her restaurant, she'd write poetry, when she wasn't writing poetry, she was sleeping.

"In here, dear." Eudora called from the kitchen. She walked in and saw Henry Fenner sitting at the kitchen table adjusting flowers in a vase on the table.

He smiled a crooked smile at her, "Hi, Tia."

Tiana was all kinds of confused. "Did the other bidder withdraw? Do they not want the place anymore?" Tiana exclaimed as she slid into a seat at the table.

"No, I…came here to see you. I wanted to ask for your hand in marriage." Henry said. Tiana was smiling. Her lips formed a straight line. Then she burst out laughing. "I beg your pardon?" Tiana could hardly breathe, she was laughing so hard.

"Tiana!" Eudora snapped.

"I'm sorry, mum, but we only talk on business matters. I don't…"

"She'll think about it," Eudora began, "She loves the flowers." Henry headed for the door, and left.

"Mom, I'm not going to think about it, I don't like Henry like that." Tiana said picking up one of the flowers and plucking off the petals.

"Oh, but, honey, he has enough money to get you the restaurant. You guys would be so cute together, he said a lot of wonderful things about you. It seems like he's had his eye on you for a long time." Eudora said.

"It's not gonna happen." Tiana said again. She picked up the flowers from the vase and threw them in the trash.

Henry was in the kitchen again, when Tiana got up that morning. She rolled her eyes. She could no longer take Henry seriously after declaring he'd wanted to marry her, when they hadn't even gone on a date. He was too immature.

"Hey, Henry." Tiana said as she began cooking some waffles.

"Your mother let me in, she left to do some shopping. She said I could wait here until you woke up." Henry swept his brown hair out of his eyes. He smiled.

"Yeah…do you want some waffles?"

"No, I ate before I came."

Tiana shrugged. "More for me!" Tiana giggled.

Henry looked at Tiana as she giggled. Behind all the work and determination, there was a girl with a sense of humour, beauty, and _fun. _Henry smiled. He was glad he came here. He then began to think of why he came here. He would have never come on his own, it was Harvey who had forced him. He wanted Henry to marry Tiana so they could take all the money she worked for when they merged bank accounts, and they would also get the money from the other bidder for the place. Harvey knew Henry had a thing for Tiana, so it worked out for everyone.

Except for Tiana.

Tiana set down the waffles on the table.

Chocolate chip waffles. Henry instantly regretted saying he had eaten before he came. He could eat anything chocolate whenever or wherever.

"So, Tiana, are you working today?" As soon as the words left his mouth Henry knew how dumb a question that was.

"Well yeah, I've been working all day and all night because of Harvey, that ass-" She stopped before she finished her sentence. She began cutting up her waffles.

"Those smell delicious, Tiana." Henry blushed.

"Thanks. Are you sure you don't want any?"

"Maybe a bite." He said shyly. Tiana stabbed a piece with her fork and brought it to his lips. If people gave Tiana a chance, Henry thought, they'd realize what a great girl she is.

"That is _tasty!" _Henry exclaimed. "Let me walk you to work?"

"Henry, I really…don't know how to say this, but I-"

"Then don't say it." Henry said. "Don't."

"Suit yourself, but the truth always prevails."

Tiana got up from the table and went to her room to change into her work clothes. She put on her blue uniform for _Macy's Mornings _and fixed her hair. She brushed it back and put it into a high ponytail. She came back into the kitchen. With her bag slung over her arm. "Let's go."

Tiana hopped on one foot on the way to the restaurant. Then she hopped on the other one and kept alternating on the way there.

"Tiana, what _are _you doing?" Henry asked, embarrassed.

"I don't know, just making a game on my way to work. It's fun, you-"

"You're seventeen, Tiana, stop acting like such a child."

"Exactly. I still am a child. I'm still a teenager. How old are you anyways, because you act like your fifty." Tiana continued hopping.

Henry's face turned crimson. Tiana didn't even have the nerve to say she was kidding or take it back. She couldn't even apologize.

"Why do you want to marry anyways?" Tiana asked. She finally stopped hopping.

"You're beautiful. I like your personality."

"Thanks. No one has ever said that to me before… well here's _Macy's Mornings, _see you!" Tiana ran up to the entrance and walked in. Tiana was 20 minutes early. She was hoping to escape Henry by leaving early, but he had come with her anyways. She decided she would sit down and have some green tea before starting work. She then saw that man… Naveen. He was sitting down by the window eating a croissant and sipping on some coffee. He hadn't noticed her, so she decided to go sit with him. As she sat on the seat opposite of him, his face brightened as he saw her.

They shouted, "Achidanza!" in unison. Tiana started laughing and so did Naveen. "What are you doing here?" Naveen asked.

"I work here!" Tiana giggled.

"Ahh. I see. Oh! Your necklace. I forgot." Naveen hit himself with the palm of his hand. "I am so sorry."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot too."

"Alright, at the end of your shift, we can go to my house and pick up the necklace." Naveen suggested.

"That sounds good, my shift ends at 1pm." She smiled.

"I'll come pick you up here at quarter to 1, then." Naveen got up and he left.

It was a long day at work. Tiana thought it would never end. She took her hair out of it's high ponytail and stepped outside into the fresh air. She leaned against the wall of the restaurant and sighed. She saw Naveen walking toward her in the distance. She waved to him. She took this time to take in his features. Flawless brown hair, it seemed to be always in place. He had a muscular build, and was extremely handsome. He got closer and she saw his brown eyes. They were the colour of chocolate. He was _beautiful. _"My house is this way," Naveen pointed to the left. They continued down the street. Tiana saw Dawn and Maddy walking down the street parallel to them. "EEEEEK! Naveen!" Screamed Dawn. "Oh, Naveeeeeeen! Come over here, baby!" cooed Maddy.

Naveen chuckled nervously and gave them a little wave. He continued walking.

Tiana stopped walking, her mouth wide open. Was Naveen screwing Maddy and Dawn? Naveen realized Tiana was no longer walking beside him. He turned around and saw her standing there staring at him. "I guess… I should have mentioned, I come from Maldonia…I'm actually the Prince of Maldonia." He rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of what to say next.

"That's so interesting…" Tiana began to walk again and walked beside him. "So, what brings you to New Orleans?" Tiana asked.

"Well, my parents cut me off. I've been looking for a job, or a bank loan, or _something." _Naveen said looking straight ahead.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's alright, I'll get back on my feet eventually." He smiled at Tiana. She was so beautiful. He liked her voice, and the way her eyes sparkled. Tiana saw an all to familiar short curvy figure walking towards them.

"Tia? That you, darling?" the figure said.

Lottie.

Tiana smiled and ran towards her. "Lottie! How was your trip!"

"It was amazing, and…" Lottie stopped hugging her and turned to look at Naveen. "_Who…is…this?" _

"This is Naveen, and Naveen this is my best friend Lottie." Tiana introduced the two.

"Oh, well it's very nice to meet you." Lottie winked at him. Naveen shifted uncomfortably on his feet. He wanted to continue conversing with Tiana. He did not want to talk to this blonde airhead at all.

"I'll see you later, okay, Lottie?" Tiana discreetly dismissed her before she would try to hit on Naveen.

"Can't I come with y'all- oh… I _see." _Lottie began to leave, and as she brushed by Tiana she whispered in her ear, "Good luck, he's _handsome." _

Eventually they made it to Naveen's house. It looked small, but it was incredibly cozy. Naveen opened the door. "Take a seat, I'll go get the necklace." Tiana sat down, and began to dread the moment she'd get her necklace back. Then she wouldn't have an excuse to talk to Prince Naveen anymore.


End file.
